Door-hanger



(No-Model.) K yR. D. DIRKSEN.

DOOR HANGER.

IlNiTn STATES PATENT ricca.

RICHARD D. DIRKSEN, OF FREEPOR'I, ILLINOIS.

DOOR-HANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,466, dated January 2'7, 1891..

Application filed May 21, 1890. Serial No. 352,642. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: i

Be it known that I, RICHARD D. DiRKsEN, a resident of Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- I-Iangers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of tl1einvention,s1.ich as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in overhead door-hangers, and is fully described and explained in this specitication and shown in the accompanying` drawings, in which- Figure l is a view ot my improved hanger, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section. Fig. 2 is a view thereof, partly in end elevation and partly in vertical section, the plane of section being throughthe line Fig. l, and the view being in the direction indicated by the arrow a in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top plan of the plate attached to t-he door and the parts permanently connected. therewith, and Fig. 4 is an end view of said plate.

In the views, A A A is a hanger-frame made up of a rider-bar A, a bottom bar A', parallel to the rider-bar and in the same vertical plane therewith, and two connectingarms A, joining the ends of the rider-bar and the bottom bar and bent laterally, as indicated in Fig. 2, to permit the use of the hanger with a single rail supported at one side only.

D B are two parallel rollers, provided with external flanges b I) and connected by an axle C, on which the rider-bar rests.

D is a single rail, preferably fastened to a strip D', which may be attached in any convenient manner to the studding at one side of the rail. The inner edge of the upper part of the rail D israbbeted, as shown at tl, to l'orm a recess for the [lange b ot the roller B, resting on that portion of the rail, and it is evident that the rollers may move through any suitable distance along the rail, the axle C of the rollers serving during such motion as the support of the hanger-frame, and the position of the axle with reference to the rider-bar being` changed by the motion of the rollers in the manner common in devices of this class.

E is a door of any ordinary construction, and F a plate fastened to the upper edge of the door and having its outer end iiush with the outer edge of the door. This plate is provided with aseries of integrally-form ed arches or bridges f, two of which are preferably formed at the ends of the plate and two others near the center thereof, each of the center arches being separated from the nearest ter minal arch by a considerable space and the two center arches being separated from each other by a smaller space, all of such spaces being formed for the purpose hereinafter explained. A right and left screw S extends from end to end of the plate and lies beneath the arches f, formed thereon, longitudinal movement ot' the screw with reference to the plate being prevented in any suitable manner-as, for instance, by means of a transverse web f, Fig. 1, engaging the annular groove g in the screw.

Nuts N N engage the right and left portions of the screw S, respectively, and lie in the spaces between the central arches and the terminal arches ot the plate, respectively, and slots formed in the ends of the screw provide means for turning it from either end and in either direction, whereby the nuts N N may be simultaneously moved toward or away from the center of the plate. Each of the spaces in which `the nuts N N move, as described, is spanned by a bar f', formed integrally with the arches at the ends ot' the space, the bar being so placed that the upper face of the nut rests against the lower face of the bar, whereby any up ward strain upon the nut is almost entirely borne by the bar and not by the screw S. Each ot' the nuts N N is provided with lateral gudgeons a fn, and links L L, fastened to the bar A by means of transversepivots p, are formed at their lower ends with hooks I, which engage the gudgeons n upon the nuts N. It is evident that the rotation ot the screw in one direction must increase the distance between the nuts N N and between the hooks of the links engaging the gudgeons thereon, and must thereby decrease the distance between the plate F and the bar A ot' the hanger-trame, and the rotation of the screw in the opposite direction must bring the nuts nearer together and increase the dis- IOO tance between the plate F and the hangerframe, and the mechanism described therefore provides a simple and effective means of regulating the distance between the bar to which the plate is attached and the rail which supports the hanger. Stops s, of any suitable construction, are formed onthe bar A and limit the motion of the hooks toward the center of the plate F, and it is evident that if the movement of the nuts N N toward each other be sufficiently continued after the links have reached their limit ot' motion the gudgeons n will be withdrawn from the hooks and the' plate and its attaclnnent released therefrom.

IVhe'n the plate F, with the screw S and tnuts N, is free from the hanger, the links L naturally rest against the stops s and the hooks at the ends of the links remain attheir limit of motion toward each other, and if the nuts N N be separated until the distance between the gudgeons thereon is greater than the distance between the points of the hooks it is evident that. the plate F may be raised until the gudgeons strike and separate the points of the hooks, and the hooks will swing together and engage the gudgeons, when the raising of the plate is still further continued. This engagement of the gudgeons by the hooks completes the connection of the plate F and the hanger and brings the parts into working relation, when they may be operated in the manner hereinbefore set forth.

Zhen the parts are all connected, the weight of the door tends constantly to hold the links symmetrical with reference to the central vertical line of 'the hanger, and thus preserve the stability of the parts; but in order to prevent anypossibility of longitudinal movement of the hanger with reference to the plate, I provide the bar A with a dependent arm a, which enters the space between the central arches fof the plate F iny the manner shown in Fig. l.

The construction of the hanger shown and described herein may be varied in many of its details without affecting its principle of operation, and I desire, therefore, not to limit my invention to the exact forms shown, as I believe certain of its features to be broadly new.

I desire particularly not to limit the invention to the use of the particular means shown and described for connecting the plate F with the hanger, as I believe it to be broadly new to provide a door and hanger with any means whatever, whereby the two parts may be connected or brought into engagement by a simple upward movement of the door and without any longitudinal movement of the hanger with reference to the door. This is an important and `highly advantageous feature of construction, and, so far as I know, it is wholly novel.

I-Iaving now described and explained my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a door-hanger, the combination, with a suitable frame and a plate adapted to be fastened to the edge of a door, of a right and left screw seated in said plate, nuts engaging the screw and adapted to be moved toward or away from each other by the rotation of the screw, and links connecting said nuts with the frame, whereby the rotation of the screw may vary the distance between said frame and said plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the rollers and hanger-frame, of the plate F, adapted to be attached to a door and formed with arches f, the right and left screw S, seated in said plate and susceptible of rotation therein, the nuts N N, engaging said screw and provided with lateral gudgeons n n, and the links L, pivoted at their upper ends to the hanger-frame and provided at their lower ends with hooks l Z, adapted to engage the gudgeons n n and support the plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. rIhe combination, with the rollers and hanger-frame, of the plate F, adapted to be attached to a door, a right and left screw seated in said plate, the nuts N N, engaging said screw and provided with lateral gudgeons n n, and the links L L, pivote-d to the hanger-frame and provided at their lower ends with hooks ZZ, adapted to engage the gudgeons n n, the hanger-frame being provided With stops adapted to limit the oscillation of the links, whereby when the links have reached their limit of oscillation the nuts may be moved still farther in the same direction and disengage from the hooks, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4t. 'Ihe combination, with the rollers and hanger-frame, of the plate F, provided with the arches f and bars f', a right and left screw S, seated in said plate, the nuts N N, engaging said screw and lying beneath and in contact with the bars f', and the links L L, connecting said nuts with the hanger-frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD D. DIRKSEN.

Witnesses:

R. H. WILEs, J. A. GRAIN.

IOO 

